2015-12-31

Platform concept

platform, noun pre-existing piece of software to provide comprehensive functionality to other software pieces (i.e. applications) during some phases of their lifecycle

Note: Good platforms make simple things simple and complex things possible.
Note: "Piece" is a unit of deployment.
Note: All platforms are digital.
Note: Types of platforms mentioned below may be mixed in a particular software product.

Functional platforms (configurable monoliths)

Origin: corporate functions automation
Typical characteristics: generic solutions have to be configured for needs of a particular business
Typical provisioning: SaaS or PaaS or on-premises or hybrid
Typical creator: FOSS or COTS
Examples: ERP, CRM, ECM
Note: Also called "Vendor platforms"

Intermediation platforms

Origin: portalsTypical characteristics: middleman between service consumers and service providers
Typical provisioning: IaaS or on-premises
Typical creator: home-made
Examples: Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, Alibaba, Paypal
Note: The owner of an intermediation platform helps to match demand and supply without any ownership over supplied resources (Uber does not owe cars, Airbnb does not owe hotels, Facebook does not generate any content, Alibaba does not produce consumer goods).
Note: Also called "Digital platform" or marketplace.

Business execution platforms

Origin: corporate functions automation
Typical characteristics: a coherent set of functionality sufficient to run business in a particular business domain as a set of solutions which are assembled from microservices.
Typical provisioning: hybrid or on-premises
Typical creator: FOSS or COTS
Examples: Ыalesforce
Note: Business execution platforms may be collected from previously mentioned platforms.

Potential industry-sector synergy

Any corporate within the same industry-sector do, in principal, the same things but in slightly different way. If a corporate unified business execution platform enables synergy between diversity and uniformity then the same platform may serve the whole industry-sector (public services, healthcare, smart-city, etc.).

2015-12-15

This pattern summarises the essential capabilities to be delivered by enterprise architecture as a practice:

Architecture Design (AD)

Architecture Governance (AG)

Innovatives and Optimisation (IO)

Architecture Design or Delivery (AD) – do right things

Architecture Design defines (at the scale of an enterprise) how solutions to be designed, delivered, operated, monitored, evolved and decommissioned (covering of their full life-cycle). EA has to deliver an overall solution for the whole enterprise. It is possible only as a set of smaller ("normal") solutions. Thus EA must control/influence them.

P.S.

In ballet, adagio refers to slow movement, typically performed by a group of dancers with the greatest amount of grace and fluidity than other movements of dance.

Adagio in music (from Wikipedia):

True and heartfelt transfer Adagio is the touchstone of the art performance of each musician and singer. However, the Adagio is a clear indicator of the degree of true talent, a sign of the composer's talent, because the adagio (which are total internal consistency and richness of musical thought) exposes the talent and skill of the composer.

In acrobatics adagio is the performance of partner acrobalance poses and associated movements that involve stationary balances.

may use (via IoT) some sensors (physical world to digital world adapters) and “materialisers” / "actuators" (digital world to physical world adapters) - of course if they understand this process and agree to act particular roles

A real-life example – a stadium during a football match is full of fans. Each of them has his/her own needs and behaviour. Perfect peak performance case which can be economically reasonable only via on-demand provisioning of processes and microservices.